No proof of bribe demand: Chhattisgarh HC acquits govt official in graft case

The Chhattisgarh High Court acquitted an education department official in a 2014 bribery case. It held that recovered cash alone cannot sustain a corruption conviction without proof of demand.The Chhattisgarh High Court set aside a 2017 trial court order that had sentenced Murali Prasad Choudhary, 41, an accountant posted in the office of the District Education Officer in Surajpur district. (File photo)The Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted an education department official in a decade-old bribery case, saying mere recovery of tainted currency notes without clear proof that a bribe was demanded cannot be the basis for conviction.A single bench of Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi set aside a 2017 trial court order that had sentenced Murali Prasad Choudhary, 41, an accountant posted in the office of the District Education Officer in Surajpur district. The order was passed by the High Court in Bilaspur on September 18.Choudhary had challenged the special court order that convicted him under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.In its order, the High Court said, "Demand of illegal gratification is the gravamen of the offence, and unless the prosecution proves such demand beyond reasonable doubt, mere recovery of tainted currency notes from the accused cannot lead to conviction." According to the order, Mohit Ram Rajwade, president-manager of Maa Saraswati Shiksha Samiti, had approached the DEO office in 2014 in connection with recognition of a school run by the organisation. The prosecution alleged that on June 20, 2014, Choudhary demanded Rs 15,000 from Rajwade and asked him to pay Rs 5,000 immediately, of which Rs 4,900 was allegedly paid.Rajwade then approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Bilaspur, on June 21, 2014, and filed a written complaint. During verification, he was asked to record his conversation with Choudhary. The prosecution relied on these conversations, during which the alleged bribe amount was said to have been reduced to Rs 8,000. Based on the complaint and the alleged recordings, the ACB laid a trap on June 30, 2014. The prosecution said Choudhary accepted Rs 8,000 from the complainant, counted the notes and kept them in the left pocket of his trousers, after which he was caught. The ACB later filed a chargesheet, and the special court convicted and sentenced him.For the defence, counsel Ashutosh Trivedi argued that proof of both demand and acceptance of illegal gratification was necessary to establish the offences. He said Rajwade and another witness, Kunwar Sai, had turned hostile and did not support the prosecution case.Opposing the appeal, Deputy Advocate General DR Minj argued that the tainted money was recovered from Choudhary's trouser pocket and that the recovery was backed by independent as well as police witnesses.The High Court, however, said the complainant was the primary witness on the issue of demand and acceptance and that he had completely turned hostile. Rajwade told the court that Choudhary had never demanded any bribe from him.He also said that one Dr Pratap had told him a bank fixed deposit account was needed to get recognition for the school, and that he had handed over Rs 9,000 to Dr Pratap for that purpose.The court also noted Rajwade's statement that his signatures on police documents and panchnamas were taken at a rest house without the contents being read out to him.Justice Chandravanshi observed that none of the witnesses supported the most essential ingredient of the offence, namely the demand for illegal gratification. On that basis, the High Court acquitted Choudhary and cancelled the trial court's 2017 order.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 21, 2026 13:58 IST